Patience with Gary Kubiak proves virtuous for Texans

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It started with patience.

Texans owner Bob McNair’s decision – or non-decision, if you prefer – to retain Gary Kubiak proved prescient, even when the easier move would have been to dismiss the second head coach in franchise history. Maybe it was blind faith, but it was faith nonetheless, a commodity in short supply toward the end of and following a disappointing 6-10 season in 2010.

It was a topic everyone was discussing.

“We heard about it,” left tackle Duane Brown said. “We hadn’t been to the playoffs. We had a promising season (in 2009) and then took a step back last year. It definitely played a part of us this year as players.”

According to Brown, before this season was possible, there had to be growth. But it was also a natural process. It was a matter of the Texans, already a young franchise, maturing and understanding what it took to be successful. Brown said since the day Kubiak arrived that the Super Bowl-winning assistant in Denver preached the importance of accountability and being professional, but too often the message was ignored.

“So many years, we’ve tried to find ways to win, tried to go out and not lose,” he said. “We felt like we had a certain talent level and confidence in us.”

A change here, there

Enough so that there was a collective sense of underachievement, of not being able to get over the hump. And while that feeling might have prompted change in some organizations, it didn’t with the Texans. Sure, Wade Phillips was brought in as the defensive coordinator, and Johnathan Joseph and Danieal Manning were imported as significant free-agent additions, but it was mainly the same core group that finally reached the postseason.

If anything, coming close provided hope. At least that’s how inside linebacker and co-captain DeMeco Ryans chose to view the situation.

“It was the attitude of the guys who have gone through this in the past,” he said. “You’re fed up with it for a while, a lot of talk in the past about it being our year and still falling short a couple of years. But this year, we were fed up and made it happen regardless, not making any excuses.

“But then you also credit (general manager) Rick (Smith) and Kube for the guys they brought in – the rookies they brought in that were a great class for us and the free agents were huge. The pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly, and we had a true team this year. That’s the difference. We have a very talented team again, but the depth is also good.”

Staying afloat

Ryans used nautical terms in describing the experience of losing key personnel in the past – when someone went down before, the whole ship sank. Now, even with six players placed on injured reserve – including linebacker Mario Williams, quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart and punter Brett Hartmann – the Texans have managed to remain afloat.

“We’ve had talent at certain spots, top guys here and there, but we haven’t had guys everywhere we could just rotate in at any time and still go out and ball out,” Ryans said. “We used to have to depend on certain guys to make plays.”

Which should be a credit to Smith, but the general manager insisted that the approach to his job remained the same as it had ever been. Yes, the lockout complicated matters, but the goal – as always – was to identify the best fits for the system.

Smith shrugged his shoulders.

“The thing I like about this team is that they’ve never used anything as an excuse,” he said. “They’ve come to work every week. They’ve maintained their business-like approach. That’s why guys have stepped up. … I think our guys are confident. I think our coaches are doing an excellent job. When you have success, you gain more confidence. And when gain more confidence, you play with more effort and enthusiasm.

“This group has been focused – the thing that’s different is the work on the practice field every day. The approach is different. It’s been attention to detail, focused, the resolve is there. … They’ve had the resolve to meet any challenge.”

Nose tackle Shaun Cody played in Detroit in 2008, when the Lions were 0-16. He knows about adversity. Asked how this season has occurred, Cody points to the leadership of Ryans, Schaub and center Chris Myers before shaking his head.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “But there’s a sense on this team that it’s a bunch of guys who are football players. I’ve been on teams where there are big stars. All of these guys want to get the job done, do the right things and help the team win. There’s virtually no arrogance – our best player, Andre Johnson, is the most humble guy you’ll meet on Earth. If he has to block on a run play, he’s going to block on a run play. And if someone sees Andre blocking on a run play, the other guys are like, ‘I’m going to do my part.’

“It’s a rollover effect for most of the guys on the team.”

Credit to the coach

That, according to Smith, is because of the unassuming Kubiak, the sixth-year coach with the sub-.500 record, the 50-year-old former backup quarterback who tends to pepper his comments to the media with references to his “old roommate,” Denver Broncos legend John Elway.

“He’s the kind of coach you want to win for,” said Brown, the left tackle. “He takes care of us. … He takes a lot of heat when he doesn’t need to. When we don’t play well, he says it’s his fault.

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[...] Well, the Texans had something to say about the momentum from then on, as well. Dalton went 13 of 18 for 120 yards in the first half; we was looking pretty good before the Watt pick. But in the second half, forced more and more to press, he fell apart. He was 14 of 24 for 137 yards in the second half, and the Texans’ defense allowed very little in the way of rushing relief. In fact, Dalton was Cincinnati’s second-most productive runner behind fullback Brian Leonard — the only difference was, Leonard wasn’t trying to make the best of broken plays. Receiver A.J. Green had just one catch in the second half after grabbing four in the first 30 minutes, and that had everything to do with Phillips’ adjustments from press coverage to Cover-2 and high-low concepts. [...]